Most television viewers now receive their television signals through a content aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. In the typical instance, encoded television signals are sent via a cable or wireless data link to the viewer's home, where the signals are ultimately decoded in a set-top box, receiver or similar consumer device. The decoded signals can then be viewed on a television or other appropriate display as desired by the viewer.
In recent years, the capabilities provided by many set top boxes and other television receivers have been dramatically enhanced. Rather than simply receiving and decoding television content from a broadcast, cable, satellite or other source, modern receivers commonly provide additional services and features such as electronic program guides, placeshifting features, digital video recorder (DVR) capabilities, and/or the like. These features allow viewers significant flexibility in customizing their viewing experiences in terms of selecting various settings for presenting programming in a desired manner, shifting viewing to other locations or times, and/or features as desired.
Often, however, a set-top box or other television receiver is shared between multiple users living within a household, dormitory, or other environment. Each of these users may have unique programming and other preferences based upon their demographics and/or personal tastes. Typically, however, it is very difficult to identify the viewer using a particular device without requiring the user to provide some sort of userid/password or other manually-provided credential. The process of providing such information can be cumbersome and inconvenient, and as a result many users simply choose not to use customized features, even when such features are available.
It is therefore desirable to create systems and methods that are able to readily identify particular viewers and provide viewer-related content to the identified particular viewers. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.